Monty Don's Rhineland Gardens is a 3 part series featuring our favourite TV Gardener Monty Don that was first shown in BBC2 on Friday 16 January 2026.
The series, shown over the 3 episodes sees Monty Don travelling along the Rhine visiting a total of 4 Countries.
This hour long programme starts in the Switzerland and he ends his journey in the Netherlands.
Strangely this programme cuts into the screening of Gardeners' World Compilations 2026 which has only been aired for 1 episode in the Friday night 8 pm slot before this series started.
Maybe the over run of Gardeners' world 2025 due to episodes being cancelled has affected the programming for these 2 series.
This series is also going head to head with The Traitors on BBC1 in the schedule!
There was so many gardens added to my personal list of gardens to visit as well as a new look at some already firm favourites that made this series so special.
This series Monty visits 4 different countries following the course of the Rhine River and visiting gardens along its path before it makes its way into the North Sea.
Special Guests
Episode 1
Fabian Reppel
Count Bjorn Bernadotte
Karin Kung-Minder
Roland Raderschall
Dr Stephan Brenneisen
Rolf Fehlbaum
Gardens visited
Episode 1
In this first programme Monty travels through Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria and Germany following the River Rhine.
Monty starts his journey in Switzerland up in the Swiss Alps to visit the Art Nouveau Schatzalp Hotel which has the Alpinum Botanical Gardens.
He unexpectedly sees plants from all over the World that do well in the high altitude garden and the high UV and sees his first ever Edelweiss Flower.
Next Monty goes to see the 500 year old garden at Haldenstein Castle, who gardens is constructed on terraces and covered with Roses and flower beds.
Monty moves on to Liechtenstein before arriving in Austria at Lake Constance to travel across to Mainau Island.
The whole of the 45 acre Island is a garden, with formal and informal planting and some magnificent trees that were planted 150 years ago in just 2 metres of soil.
Monty also sees some 'Floral Animals' he was not to sure about and the latest project a fern and Fuchsia Garden.
Monty now moved on to Reichenau Island on the German side of the Lake to visit the garden at Reichenau Abbey which was were one of the original gardening books was written.
The book was about the essential herbs and plants grown in the 9th Century Monastery which were a strange mixture of plants like Roses, Sage, Iris and Rue as well as vegetables.
Monty is back across the Swiss border to visit a Farm Garden, Karin's Naturgarten, which has taken 25 years to make by its owner.
It includes a natural swimming pond, a Dog Garden and various other garden rooms that surrounds the house all with Biodiversity in mind.
Monty visit the Village of Osterfingen to go round there Garden Trail where every front garden is beautifully kept and attracts visitors to the traditional village.
Monty next Garden is on the Northern tip of Lake Zurich, the Baroque style Rechberg Garden built at the mansion of a wealthy silk trader in the 1760's.
The garden has been restored with its symmetrical flower beds, terrace steps and fountains.
Staying in Zurich, Monty goes to the MFO-Park to visit a garden thats not really a garden as its also a building.
The steel clad structure is covered in climbing plants, with a series of balconies and places to sit under it like a giant green covered arbour.
Monty goes to the oldest Roman Settlement in Switzerland Augusta Raurica near Basel but not really to see a garden as such but just how it become part of the Community.
In Basel Monty visits a riverside cafe Oetlinger Buvette to see its roof garden which grows its own herbs and teas for the cafe.
It is now part of the Building Code that new flat roofs have to have roof gardens in Basel.
Monty also visits the University of Basel Biocentre to see there prairie style roof garden on top of the 73 metre high building.
For Monty final Garden visit of Episode 1 he goes to the German side of the Rhine to visit Vita Campus and the Garden there on the famous Furniture Manufacturers site.
The garden has open beds full of grasses and Perennials all planted in waves of colour.
Monty Don in Germany for this episode, visiting City gardens and Castles as he follows the Rhine.
Monty sees dramatic landscape and also bleak industrial landscape and visits a park created from a disused warehouse.
Monty Don now in the Netherland where the Rhine splits into several waterways on its way to the North Sea.
Monty looks at how important the Rhine is to the Dutch and of course there are Tulips and a visit to a Flower Market.
I am looking forward to a bit of gardening escapism at this bleak time of year and the programming of these Monty Specials are always a welcome relief.
As usual the very well travelled Monty Hat will put in lots of appearances, would we expect anything less!
All Photographs copyright of BBC.com
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